I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
By Buster Books
3.5/5
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Buster Books
Buster Books loves to create books for curious and creative children, which spark the imagination and encourage exploration. Above all, they are books to be enjoyed.
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Reviews for I Wish I Knew That
4 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If you're looking for a basic knowledge refresher or a book to use in prepping for an academic bowl or similar "general knowledge" test, this is the book for you.
Book preview
I Wish I Knew That - Buster Books
Written by Steve Martin,
Dr Mike Goldsmith and Marianne Taylor
Illustrated by Andrew Pinder
Edited by Elizabeth Scoggins
Designed by Zoe Quayle
First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Buster Books,
an imprint of Michael O’Mara Books Limited,
9 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SW4 7NQ
www.mombooks.com/busterbooks
Text and illustrations copyright © Buster Books 2010
This electronic edition published in 2011
ISBN: 978-1-78055-055-8 in EPub format
ISBN: 978-1-78055-054-1 in Mobipocket format
ISBN: 978-1-907151-10-1 in hardback print format
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Ebook compilation by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
Cover design by Angie Allison
CONTENTS
Getting Ahead Of The Class
LITERATURE STUFF
Shakespeare, In Short
Poets’ Corner
Classic Reads
MUSIC AND ART STUFF
A Brief History Of Music
The World Of Art
LANGUAGE STUFF
The Parts Of Speech
Putting A Sentence Together
Unusual Terms
Sounds Like …
Let’s Figure This Out
Languages Of The World
CLASSICS STUFF
A Dip Into The Classics
Ancient Languages
The Seven Wonders
Mythologically Speaking
HISTORY STUFF
British Kings And Queens
In Search Of Conquest
Exploring The Globe
Prime Ministers
Troubled Times
In Times Of War
All The US Presidents
Classified
How Cold Is A Cold War?
GEOGRAPHY STUFF
Countries, Continents And Capital Cities
The United States Of America
Tallest, Largest, Longest
How Land Is Shaped And Changed
The Water Cycle
Weather And Climate
Human Impact
Geological Time, In Brief
MATHS STUFF
What’s In A Number?
A Number Of Questions
Compare And Contrast
Weird Numbers
Measuring, To Be Precise
Jump Into Geometry
Some Algebra Magic
What Are The Chances?
Mathematical Greats
SCIENCE STUFF
First Physics
The Laws Of Motion
Electricity And Magnetism
Space, Time And All That
Gravity And Black Holes
Quick Chemistry
The Periodic Table
Chemical Compounds
Beginners’ Biology
Getting Under Your Skin
Micro-life
Where Did You Come From?
INDEX
GETTING AHEAD OF THE CLASS
Have you ever known something the other kids in your class didn’t? Cool, isn’t it?
In this book you will discover lots of exciting things your teachers haven’t mentioned (and some of the things they have).
Find out the names of all the countries in the world and their capital cities. Discover how a black hole works and if a cold war really is cold. Read about an enormous island of floating plastic in the Pacific Ocean.
There are lots of bite-sized chunks of information from history and geography, to maths and science. There are even sections on literature and language, to make sure you get things right when you write.
Rather than a whole pile of books, you can get a taste of all these different subjects with just this one. In no time at all you’ll be able to impress your friends and family with a hundred interesting titbits. Better still, you’ll stay way ahead of your classmates!
SHAKESPEARE, IN SHORT
William Shakespeare, or the Bard (meaning poet), wrote some of the world’s best-known plays and poems. He wrote funny plays known as comedies and sad plays, which are called his tragedies. Several plays are known as ‘problem plays’, which very entertaining, but neither comedies nor tragedies. Here are some brief introductions to his most famous plays to help you bluff your way through until you can see them at the theatre yourself.
Hamlet
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a troubled young man. His father, the king, has been murdered, and his mother has married his father’s brother, Claudius, after only a few weeks.
One night, the ghost of the king appears to Hamlet and reveals that Claudius murdered him. He asks Hamlet to seek revenge, but Hamlet wants to find more proof of the murder first. To do this, he pretends to be driven mad by grief, and puts on a play for Claudius that tells the story of a murder similar to that of the king’s. It makes it very clear that the king has been murdered by his brother. When Claudius reacts nervously to the play, Hamlet is convinced he is guilty.
Hamlet goes to confront his mother in her room, but he thinks he can hear Claudius hiding behind a curtain and stabs at him. Sadly, he has not killed Claudius, he has murdered Polonius, the father of Ophelia, a girl Hamlet once loved. The news drives Ophelia mad and she drowns herself.
These terrible events lead to more revenge and this time Polonius’ son, Laertes (pronounced ‘layer-tees’), decides to punish Hamlet. Claudius sets up a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, but he gives Laertes a poisoned sword to make sure that Hamlet dies. Laertes fatally stabs Hamlet, but during the fight, the two men accidentally switch weapons and Hamlet also wounds Laertes with the poisoned sword.
A wounded Hamlet then manages to stab Claudius, but at that moment his mother drinks from the poisoned wine that Hamlet had prepared for Claudius. Laertes, Hamlet, his mother and Claudius all die – not really a happy ending.
Romeo And Juliet
This is the story of a young couple from two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet fall in love instantly when they meet at Juliet’s family party, and are later secretly married by Friar Laurence. However, Tybalt, a cousin of Juliet’s, is angry that Romeo came to the party uninvited and challenges him to fight. When Romeo refuses, his friend Mercutio fights instead and is killed. Romeo murders Tybalt in revenge and is sent away as a punishment, leaving Juliet behind.
This wouldn’t be so bad, except that Juliet’s family, who still have no idea that she is married, arrange a wedding between Juliet and her cousin, Count Paris. To avoid Juliet getting stuck with a second husband she doesn’t want, Friar Laurence comes up with a plan.
The plan involves Juliet drinking a potion to make her appear to be dead. The idea is that Romeo will come back and rescue her from her tomb. Sadly, for both Romeo and Juliet the plan goes disastrously wrong when a message, reassuring Romeo that Juliet is only sleeping in the tomb, gets lost. Poor Romeo returns home believing his wife is dead. Stricken with grief, he kills himself, and when Juliet wakes up she kills herself, too.
The Montagues and Capulets finally decide to stop being enemies, but it’s all too late for Romeo and Juliet.
Now that’s what you call a tragedy.
Much Ado About Nothing
On the way home from battle, Don Pedro, a prince, and his men, Claudio and Benedick, are invited to stay in Messina by the governor of the city, Leonato. Claudio is reunited with Leonato’s daughter, Hero, who he once loved. Claudio and Hero are driven crazy by the constant arguing between Beatrice (Leonato’s niece) and Benedick. They decide to trick Beatrice